Dear Fast #Runners On Twitter Keep Posting Your Shit If You Want

Another tweet has annoyed me. It has annoyed many people.

It’s this nonsense.

If you’re offended by better runners then the problem lies with something you’re doing wrong. You’re probably eating too many pies and are unhappy with your body. I know this was the problem with me. There are many great runners out there. When they do great in races they don’t take shit away from you. They show you the way to be better and if you actually ask them for help then most will be happy to help you.

You are responsible for your own feelings of inadequacy. No one on earth can make you feel better about yourself. Do you want to be on your deathbed feeling inadequate to 95% of the population most of whom like one of the following three; Donald Trump, porridge and Oprah Winfrey? You’ll be despairing at not having enough energy to punch a black hole through their fucking heads.

I used to hate successful people. I harbored a cringing awful hatred which was more about personal pain than what anyone else is doing. I hated that I was never good enough in my own mind and their success reminded me of this. I should have thought ‘well maybe you aren’t good enough but here’s what you can do to better your situation and it doesn’t involve getting emotionally attached to the outcomes of others.’

Part of it came from being a people pleaser. I’ve since realized that I don’t have to be liked to exist. Having to be liked by everyone is a surefire way for you to stop existing. It is too much work and you have to sacrifice so much of yourself to just be. Then you get annoyed with people for not liking you back. You will never get enough validation from external sources. The desire for more is incessant. You’re OK now and it’s perfectly fine for 80% of the population to think you’re a cunt.

When it comes to being a runner you only need to ask yourself one question. Why am I doing this? If the answer isn’t an internal one then you’ll go back outside for validation and get jealous at all of the other sexy bastards with their sub 3 marathons. These people typically know why they are running. That’s why they do it a lot.

The main problem lies with people believing that runners should aspire to certain goals in order to be considered worthy of the title ‘runner’. The running magazines will show you 15 ways to the perfect body with the insinuation being that you don’t have one now.

You know what the perfect body is? The one you have now coupled with acceptance and readiness to change if you need to change. If you can’t accept yourself as for how you are you will never accept yourself as for how you are as it’s how you are and how you’ve always been.

There’s room for everyone out there and you can find your own brand of success if you find a path and a goal that means something to you.

Spending time charting your own distinct course in life is the only way. Spending hours on Twitter envying everyone else isn’t helping you or the person you’re jealous of. Their success has nothing to do with you, just like your failures have fuck all to do with them. You’re 100% responsible for your success or failure.

Success or failure usually comes down to a perspective or an opinion. The trouble is that we put too much currency in other people’s opinions. The only valid response to a call such as “you’re not a runner” is “wow that’s a noise that’s just come out of your wacky old head. Your mouth opened. Then the tongue did something peculiar. Then a bit of a Pret baguette came out. And then some criticism’.

Unless that criticism is “I’m going to break your fucking legs right now with this baseball bat made out of old hardened Pret baguettes” then what does it matter?

It won’t stop you from running unless you let your feelings take over. And you aren’t your feelings just like you aren’t your farts. They soon pass out of you after causing a bit of a stink for everyone else.